


Vampyric

by Vargras



Category: Xenoblade Chronicles 2 (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, also enjoy the pun title, one-shot time, only rated mature for blood mentions and SOME suggestive stuff, set in post-ending, this time with vampire!blade AU, very mildly suggestive though
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-03
Updated: 2018-11-03
Packaged: 2019-08-16 22:05:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,841
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16503575
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vargras/pseuds/Vargras
Summary: With the loss of the Conduit, Blades across Alrest begin to discover strange side effects to the change in ether.Pyra is among the first.





	Vampyric

She couldn’t recall a single other time in her life that she had felt so… _hungry_.

It’s not like she had any reasonable explanation for it. The World Tree had only very recently collapsed, and the Conduit had gone with it. With such a loss, her capabilities as Pneuma had disappeared entirely, and for whatever reason, it had resulted in her and Mythra splitting from one another entirely. Yet something felt different since then, _wrong_ almost. She could almost feel herself getting progressively weaker with each passing day, and with it, that horrible gnawing hunger got worse and worse.

No amount of food or drink could sate it. It was simply something that was always there, continually plaguing her, and despite frequent consultations with her sister and other Blades, there was no perceivable explanation for it either -- they were all dealing with it on some level, and all of it coincided with the loss of the Conduit. But _why_? Had the ether been somehow affected, and thus caused her to reach the state she was in now? She kept checking herself in the mirror each and every morning, always concerned by what was happening to herself, yet never enough to bring it up to her Driver. Rex had been through enough as is, he didn’t need to be fretting over whether or not she was fine.

It was nothing, surely. It wasn’t as if Blades really got ‘sick’ or anything, but… she certainly _felt_ sick at times. It was as if with each look in that mirror, she was getting more pale, more sluggish, more… agitated, almost. The behavioral changes had been the most shocking change she observed within herself, by far. With each new day upon the calendar, she was becoming more… reckless, almost. Certainly more flirtatious, saying and doing things around Rex that she wouldn’t have dared to do before. And he had noticed, _oh_ how he had noticed... he was becoming more and more receptive to her advances by the day. It surely wasn’t how _he_ normally acted either, but… perhaps this was simply them growing comfortable around one another and moving into a more peaceful era? That alone had made her unexpectedly happy, and was almost incentive enough to keep going with such things, but there was something deeper within her that spoke, something almost demanding that she submit to her baser instincts.

She had been… trying to ignore it. Trying very, very hard, and as that hunger kept creeping up on her, it was getting more and more difficult to simply block it out. She had already convinced Rex of so much -- to be with her. To stay with her. To share a bed with her. There was this incredible urge, a _yearning_ almost, to simply be with him. To be around him. To be right next to him, always. Had she… always been this clingy? No, this was beyond clingy at this point. This was borderline carnal hunger and desire. But that other hunger, the one that had been consistently bothering her… that was a different sort, wasn’t it?

Pyra groaned and splashed her face with some more water, rubbing at her cheeks and eyes as she looked herself over once more. She was sure Rex would fervently disagree, but she felt about as awful as she probably _looked_ right now. Her skin was incredibly pale by this point, eyes ever-so-slightly more red than usual, and… She quickly ran her own tongue across her teeth. _Had they always been this… long?_

No. Clearly just her imagination. At any rate, she should probably get back to bed -- it was the middle of the night and her Driver was still sound asleep. Not only that, but they were traveling to Gormott in the morning to go see Nia and Dromarch. They both needed to rest. Turning off the lights to the bathroom, Pyra made her way back into the bedroom and--

She came to a halt, eyes fixated on Rex. In whatever pale moonlight leaked through the window, she could make out his sleeping form, and every little detail, right down to the expression on his face. He looked so… peaceful. So at ease. So _vulnerable_. Her eyes widened as she felt her heartbeat increase, and ever so slowly, she began to simply… go to him. To be with him. To _join_ him. The voice within her had returned, telling her of all the delightfully tempting things she could do with him. The things she could do _to_ him. They had already confessed their love for one another -- was this not simply the next natural step in their relationship?

The hunger had returned again, and it felt absolutely insatiable tonight. There would be no rest for her. No rest for them. He had rolled onto his back by now, completely sprawled out in the midst of his sleep, and she felt that gnawing feeling intensify suddenly. She had an opportunity, and her body was demanding that she take it. She happily complied, slowly crawling into bed alongside him, creeping about until she was right over him. Her body moved of its own accord, straddling him and hands reaching out to pin him by his wrists. To look at him now, in this state, filled her with such indescribable _bliss_. He looked so very… perfect right now, but her eyes were quickly drawn to his neck, so open and exposed.

She licked her lips at the sight of it. They had already become so close to one another, surely he wouldn’t mind if she just… had a taste of him. Pyra steadily leaned down towards him, her tongue slipping out past her lips to lightly brush against his neck, a shiver of delight traveling down her spine upon eliciting a sound out of him. Another couldn’t hurt, could it? She leaned down once more, grinning as she slowly opened her mouth, and--

Rex suddenly bolted awake, sharply gasping in pain and unable to move. It felt like a white hot iron was pressed against his neck, but try as he might, he simply couldn’t move. Through gritted teeth, he tried to take in his surroundings, gasping once more upon realizing his current situation -- it was Pyra. Pyra was on top of him, Pyra was holding him down by his wrists, Pyra had… _bit_ him? He could feel her mouth against his neck, her own quiet moans contrasting harshly with his tempered breathing, even as she sucked on his flesh. He could even feel his own hands trembling beneath her grip upon his wrists, and never before had he felt so terribly _confused_. This… this wasn’t Pyra, this _couldn’t_ be Pyra. It was all he could muster just to call out to her. “P-Pyra?!”

His voice seemingly snapped her out of her trance, as she quickly let go of him and sat upright, still straddling his torso even as she panted for breath. To see her in the light of the moon painted a rather macabre sight -- blood covered her mouth and lips, trailing down her jaw, and still running down her body even now. Blood… _his_ blood. He had already placed a hand upon the wound on his neck to try and staunch the flow, but Pyra still seemed utterly out of her right mind, staring blankly into the distance as her arms hung at her side. She slowly ran her fingers along her chest, raking them through the trails of crimson and bringing them to her mouth to lick clean, giving delighted little sighs with each and every taste, and she gradually brought her gaze back down to him.

To see him now shook her to her very core.

She… didn’t know what had happened. The last thing she remembered was heading back out to the bedroom, and the rest a blank. But now, she was on top of him, and… his neck was a bloody mess. And he was looking right at her, confused yet _terrified_. Of her. Her eyes wide with a fear of her own, she glanced down at her own hands, a pained gasp escaping her upon seeing the blood upon them. _His_ blood. She could feel it now, upon her lips and all over her mouth and chest. _She_ did this. She had hurt him, she had violated and broken his trust in her, after everything they had been through together. _She_ had done all of this.

Pyra had started to tremble and shake with the realization of all that she had done to the man she loved. Never had she been so _disgusted_ with herself in all her life. Never had she felt like such a… _monster_. “R-Rex, I… I don’t know what… how did… I don’t know what’s going _on_ anymore, I…”

His own expression had steadily begun to change, from one of terror to one of _concern_ \-- he was still terribly confused about _everything_ right now, but… to see Pyra like this? She was disoriented, she didn’t seem to remember _anything_ she had just done, but perhaps most importantly, she was in _anguish_. She had hurt him, had hurt someone she cared about so very deeply, and to know that _she_ had done it had quite possibly left her more frightened than he had ever been. And in spite of what she had just done to him, she… needed his help. Perhaps now more than ever. With one hand still on his neck, he slowly reached up to her with the other. “...Pyra?”

“Don’t! D-don’t touch me, Rex! I… I don’t want to risk hurting you again!” Her own hands quickly covered her face in shame, nails lightly scratching at her own skin as she began to cry, her body wracked by each quiet sob. “I don’t… I don’t know what’s _happening to me_ , Rex…”

“Pyra… please?” Rex had slowly sat up, causing Pyra to slide down a bit into his lap -- she seemed either unable or unwilling to even dare move from her spot. “Just… let me help you.”

She shied away from him, her own tears causing some of the blood on her face to shift and run, even as she struggled to understand what it was she had become. “R-Rex, don’t… I don’t want to hurt you, I…”

“Pyra, I… don’t know what’s going on any more than you do, but you can’t do this alone. Please.” It felt as if the bleeding had stopped, but he wasn’t sure -- slowly, he removed his hand from the wound, and quickly noted the lack of any _fresh_ blood. “You _need_ to let me help you through this.”

“And what if it happens again?! What if I lash out at you and hurt you?!”

“Then I guess it happens.”

Pyra dropped her hands in shock, staring right at him. “You’ll just accept it? Just like that?!”

He couldn’t deny that to see her mouth covered in blood was chilling to look at, let alone the fact that she now had some rather pronounced _fangs_ , but… slowly, he reached out to her face, cupping it within his own hands. “...Yeah. Just like that.”

“...w-why? Rex, I… I took advantage of you, I hurt you, I _bit_ you, I even… _fed_ off you, it feels like. I’m an _abomination_.”

“You’re _not_ , Pyra. You’re just… confused and scared right now, the same as me.”

“Scared _of me_!”

“I… I was. But not now.” He lightly brushed his thumb against her cheek, smiling sadly. “Now I’m just… scared _for_ you. Because _you’re_ scared. Scared of… all of this. Whatever it is.”

All of this was truly beyond her comprehension. Despite the harm she had caused against him, his only focus now was _on her_ and helping her get through this latest ordeal. It was hard to imagine whether or not she even truly _deserved_ his company, but… he was right. This was not something she could do alone, and her new nature had left her frightened of herself, frightened of what she was capable of -- just as she had been five hundred years ago. She shook her head and huffed, putting her own hands into her lap. “I… I don’t know what’s happening to me anymore, Rex. Am I just… a Flesh Eater now?”

“No… no, I don’t think you’re a Flesh Eater. I think you’re just Pyra.”

She scowled faintly at the mention of her own name. “...would ‘Pyra’ have done the things I did to you?”

“I mean, it’s... hard to say, really. When you say it like that, it’s almost as if you don’t even know who you are anymore. You still seem like the same old Pyra to me, though.”

“...How?”

“Oh c’mon, that’s easy! You’re still the same kind, caring, trusting… beautiful Pyra that I know. And I already see that look on your face. You were gonna ask how I could still see you as kind and caring. And… well, it’s all of this.” He briefly paused, dropping his hands from her face, if only to grab her own hands with his. “The moment you snapped out of whatever you were in, your first thought and concern was me, and making sure that _I_ was okay. Ensuring that _I_ stayed safe. If you were any different, if you were no longer your ‘true’ self, would you really have done those things?”

Pyra grimaced, her face contorting somewhat as she tried to grapple with that statement. Hesitant as she was to admit it, there was… some truth to it after all. “I… suppose.”

“Exactly. But, tell me... how are you feeling?”

“How am I… feeling? In what way?”

“In every way. Physically, mentally, emotionally.” Rex gave her hands a quick, assuring squeeze. He needed to hear it all, and she knew it.

“I… well. I… haven’t said anything because I didn’t want to worry you at all, but… I’ve felt strange ever since the Conduit disappeared. Not just weaker, because of my own ties to it, but just weaker in _every way_. And it kept getting worse with every day, almost as if it were a disease or illness. Whatever it was just always made me feel _so hungry_ , and… nothing I did seem to fix it. I… think what bothered me the most was that it _changed me_ \-- I just… wasn’t really myself anymore, saying and doing things that I’d have never dreamt of doing. Just this little voice in the back of my head, always pushing me to… be at my _worst_ , almost. It’s… hard to explain.”

“And… what about now?”

“...Now? I…” She blinked in surprise as she mulled it over. She… felt better? Stranger still, that nagging sense of hunger had dissipated somewhat. It was still _there_ , of course, but now loomed off in the distance rather than overhead. And even better yet, that little voice that had pushed her to commit all manner of sins had quieted down. “I… feel different? Like a good different. I… Rex, was all of this because I _drank your blood_?”

Rex simply stared right at her, his expression concerned yet serious. “Do you wanna test that?”

“Do… Do I want to _what_?!”

“I’m… offering you my blood, Pyra. If it’s helping you feel better, and helping you get over whatever this is, then… I’ll do it. I owe you that much, as your Driver and as someone who loves you.”

“R-Rex, I… I couldn’t, I don’t think I could even stomach the _idea_ of doing that to you again.”

“Pyra. Please. I’m offering.” He stretched an arm out to her, exposing his wrist, and trying to give her a reassuring smile. “It’s fine... honest.”

She wouldn’t. She _couldn’t_. To even _think_ of sinking her teeth into his flesh once more and drawing blood was anathema to her, and yet… he gave it freely. He did so because he cared, because _he loved her_ , because he knew that it was helping her in some strange way. To deny that would be tantamount to insulting him, and yet… she hesitated because she _also_ cared. She didn’t want to hurt him, didn’t like the _thought_ of hurting him even if he had expressly given permission to do so.

But… perhaps this was simply how things were meant to be now.

Cautiously, Pyra took his wrist into her own hands, and gave it a gentle kiss, as if to apologize for what she was about to do. And then, teeth bared, she fed -- fangs sunk into flesh, and though Rex’s arm briefly jolted from that first puncture, he held steady as she drank deep of him. Her own eyes were shut tight as his blood flowed steadily into her mouth, lapping up every last drop, and there was the strangest feeling of _warmth_ throughout her body as she did. It was… soothing, in its own way, yet still felt oddly intimate, to know that he trusted her _this much_.

Through it all, Rex tried to keep his gaze firmly affixed on her, even whilst he tried to keep his own breathing steady. Pyra had already slipped one of her hands into his, squeezing gently as she fed off him, and everything already felt like a radical departure from what had happened earlier. She was _actually_ lucid for this, and every movement that occurred was her own doing. Each gentle lick and suck upon his wrist, even the way that she was cradling his forearm, was seemingly done with just the slightest hint of affection, a way to show that she truly appreciated him for being willing to do this for her. And when at last she seemed to be finished, she gave several quick kisses along the bite wound before pulling away to try and catch her breath, her mouth and chin alike covered in fresh blood.

He quickly placed his other hand over the wound and gave a quick sigh before looking her over. “...how about now?”

In an attempt to be polite, Pyra was already trying to wipe her mouth clean, though it certainly wasn’t working. “I’m… feeling much better, actually. Probably the best I’ve felt in weeks, if I’m being honest.”

“Well then.” Rex chuckled faintly, giving the wound a quick look -- it had already stopped bleeding, which was rather surprising. “I… guess we might have to do this regularly, then? Assuming this isn’t a one-off thing, of course.”

She huffed. “I’m… not looking forward to having to do this again. I don’t like having to hurt you.”

“I know, but… if this is just how things are gonna go, I guess that’s how it is. ‘A Driver and Blade are one in body and soul’, as the saying goes.”

“I feel like you quote that too much sometimes. Besides, it’s not like it makes me feel any better about having to _bite_ you.”

“It’s fine, Pyra! Really!” He reached over to gently rub at her cheek. “I’m okay with doing it if it’s for you, you know?”

“I… guess.” Pyra wrung her hands together, frowning somewhat. “Rex, you don’t suppose I’m _actually_ a Flesh Eater now, do you? I mean, I just… ate human cells.”

“Well, your core crystal isn’t any different yet, and all that Flesh Eater stuff seems to happen pretty quick. Take a look for yourself.”

She gave a quick glance down at her own chest, and was rather pleasantly surprised to see that he was, in fact, correct -- her core was the same emerald green that it had always been, though she had managed to get blood spatter on it from her ‘feeding’. “Huh. Guess you’re right.”

“Hey uh, Pyra? I think we… might wanna get you cleaned up first. _Someone_ looks like they were a messy eater.”

Pyra squinted at him. “...After everything that happened, you’re cracking jokes?”

“Well, yeah. Sometimes that’s just what you gotta do. Honestly though, you’ve got blood all over you. Let’s get you to the bathroom and we’ll get you washed up.”

“I can clean myself up, Rex.”

“And I’m sure you can! But we’re in this together now, remember?” He flashed her a quick grin and took both of her hands into his, guiding her off the bed and towards the closest sink. “And we can’t exactly go to bed with you looking like that.”

With a sigh, Pyra admitted defeat and allowed Rex to haul her off to the sink -- the next few minutes went by fairly quickly. Rex had been adamant on wiping the blood off her, making her sit still while he dampened several towels with warm water and rubbed away at the various stains on her face and hands. Things had briefly gotten _somewhat_ awkward when he got ready to clean up her chest, both of them getting somewhat warm in the face because of it, but it just as quickly passed with the realization that Pyra had already consumed Rex’s lifeblood. Such a thing was several steps above that on the relationship chart, as far as either of them were concerned, and it _was_ rather endearing to see the amount of care he had put into cleaning her core.

He had even asked her to take quick stock of herself in the bathroom mirror, and sure enough, she  _looked_ better now. The color had returned to her skin, her eyes were back to their usual color, and the fangs that she _did_ have now seemed to have disappeared. It looked as if it was simply business as usual now, which was perfectly fine with her -- she would very much appreciate if she would never have to feed on Rex’s blood ever again. But of course, with the cleaning taken care of, it was time for rest. Gormott still awaited them in the morning, after all. Driver quickly picked up Blade, whisking the both of them off to bed together, and it didn’t take terribly long until they were nestled beneath the sheets and cozied up to one another, arms wrapped tight around one another.

“I wish you’d let me look at the bite wounds, Rex.” Pyra tutted at him, giving his nose a playful touch with her finger as she moved towards him. “I… still feel bad about it, you know.”

“It’s fine, really. Just give it a few days and you won’t even notice ‘em.” He chuckled a bit, drawing a questioning look from her. “I guess you could call it a ‘love bite’, huh?”

“Rex!”

“No? Okay then, what about if I called you… Vampyra?”

“...Vampyra? Seriously, Rex?” She couldn’t help but groan at that, rolling her eyes and leaning up to give him a quick peck on the lips. “Just go to bed, please.”

“Alright, alright… still a good nickname, if you ask me.”

“Rex, bed.”

“Yeah, yeah… g’night Pyra.”

Pyra giggled in response, satisfied and seemingly sated, pulling him closer to herself. “Good night, Rex.”

There was the tiniest bit of silence, and then Rex spoke up again. "Hey, Pyra? Do you... think Mythra's gonna have to do this too?"

She was very suddenly wide awake again.


End file.
